TESTING YOUR BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVELS
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Important information about arm testing
• Under certain conditions, blood
glucose test results obtained using
samples taken from your arm may
differ significantly from fingertip
samples.
• The conditions in which these
differences are more likely to occur
are when your blood glucose is
changing rapidly such as following a
meal, an insulin dose or associated
with physical exercise.
• When blood glucose is changing
rapidly, fingertip samples show these
changes more quickly than arm
samples.
• When your blood glucose is falling,
testing with a fingertip sample
may
identify a hypoglycemic (low blood
sugar) level sooner than a test with
an arm sample.
• Use arm samples only for testing prior
to, or more than two hours after,
meals, insulin dose or physical exercise.
• Testing performed within two hours
after meals, an insulin dose or physical
exercise, or whenever you feel that your
glucose levels may be changing rapidly,
should be done from the fingertip.
• You should also use fingertip testing
whenever you have a concern about
hypoglycemia (insulin reactions) such
as when driving a car, particularly if
you suffer from hypoglycemic
unawareness (lack of symptoms to
indicate an insulin reaction), as arm
testing may fail to detect hypoglycemia.
What you should do:
• Use arm or fingertip samples for testing
prior to, or more than two hours after,
meals, insulin dose, or physical exercise.
• Routine testing before meals can be
done either at the fingertip or the arm.
• Consult your healthcare professional
before you begin using the arm for
testing.
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